- [countable] a struggle against somebody/something using physical force
- a street/gang fight
- fight with somebody/something He got into a fight with a man in the bar.
- (figurative) I had a fight with the ticket machine, which was being temperamental.
- fight between A and B A fight broke out between rival groups of fans.
Synonyms fightfightclash ▪ brawl ▪ struggle ▪ scuffleThese are all words for a situation in which people try to defeat each other using physical force.fight a situation in which two or more people try to defeat each other using physical force:- He got into a fight with a man in the bar.
- Clashes broke out between police and demonstrators.
- a drunken brawl in a bar
- There were no signs of a struggle at the murder scene.
- He was involved in a scuffle with a photographer.
- a fight/clash/brawl/struggle/scuffle over something
- in a fight/brawl/struggle/scuffle
- a violent fight/clash/struggle
- to be in/get into/be involved in a fight/clash/brawl/scuffle
- a fight/clash/brawl/scuffle breaks out
Extra ExamplesTopics Sports: other sportsa2- Andy was drunk and spoiling for a fight.
- Don't get into any more fights!
- He killed a man in a fight.
- She tried to pick a fight with me.
- He was killed during a series of running fights outside a disco.
- I don't know who started the fight.
- In a straight fight the army usually won.
- It was a fair fight and Stephen won.
- Suddenly the argument developed into a real fight.
- The fight was broken up by a teacher.
- There's nothing he likes so much as a good fight.
- They got involved in a fight with some older boys.
- They inadvertently got mixed up in a free fight involving some 20 people.
- They nearly had a fight over who should move first.
- The referee stopped the fight in the third round.
- Did you two have a fight?
- a fist fight
- fights between hostile clans
- fights between police and football fans
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- fierce
- brutal
- …
- pick
- start
- be asking for
- …
- take place
- break out
- erupt
- …
- scene
- sequence
- club
- …
- in a/the fight
- fight about
- fight over
- …
Definitions on the go
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- an occasion when people fight as a sport, especially in boxing
- They got tickets to watch the world title fight.
- He is unbeaten in 34 fights.
- [countable] (especially North American English) an argument about something
- Paul and I had this terrible fight last night.
- fight with somebody Did you have a fight with him?
- He is still engaged in a bitter fight with his old company.
- fight (with somebody) over something We had a fight over money.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- big
- huge
- terrible
- …
- have
- cause
- get into
- …
- [singular] the work of trying to destroy, prevent or achieve something
- fight against something the fight against crime/terrorism
- He lost his fight against cancer earlier this year.
- fight for something a fight for justice/survival
- She just gave up her fight for life.
- fight to do something Workers won their fight to stop compulsory redundancies.
- The workers are determined to put up a fight (= to fight hard) to save their jobs.
- Union leaders know that they have a real fight on their hands (= will have to fight very hard).
Extra ExamplesTopics Successb1- Doctors have now joined in the fight to make this treatment available to all.
- Are we losing the fight against illegal drugs?
- She died at the age of 43 after a brave fight against cancer.
- Now he is facing his toughest fight yet—back to fitness after a series of injuries.
- She said they would continue their fight to find a cure for AIDS.
- their fight for a fair deal
- the company's desperate fight for survival in a cut-throat market
- lawyers leading the fight for compensation for the injured workers
- The fight for justice goes on.
- The fight for supremacy in the sport is on.
- The fight is on to have this brutal practice stamped out.
- The government has vowed to step up the fight against crime.
- a long fight to beat inflation
- a new weapon in the fight against car crime
- his fight with cancer
- The government has released new figures in the fight against crime.
- She vowed to take her fight to the High Court.
- I'm not giving up without a fight!
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- brave
- good
- strong
- …
- put up
- lead
- spearhead
- …
- be on
- continue
- go on
- …
- without a fight
- fight against
- fight with
- …
- a fight for life
- a fight for survival
- have a fight on your hands
- …
- [singular] a competition or an act of competing, especially in a sport
- The team put up a good fight (= they played well) but were finally beaten.
- She now has a fight on her hands (= will have to play very well) to make it through to the next round.
- fight between A and B This will be a straight fight between the two parties.
Synonyms campaigncampaignbattle ▪ struggle ▪ drive ▪ war ▪ fightThese are all words for an effort made to achieve or prevent something.campaign a series of planned activities that are intended to achieve a particular social, commercial or political aim:- the campaign for parliamentary reform
- an advertising campaign
- She finally won the legal battle for compensation.
- the endless battle between man and nature
- the struggle for independence
- the struggle between good and evil
- the drive for greater efficiency
- a drive to reduce energy consumption
- the war against crime
- Workers won their fight to stop compulsory redundancies.
- a campaign/battle/struggle/drive/war/fight against something
- a campaign/battle/struggle/drive/fight for something
- a one-man/one-woman/personal campaign/battle/struggle/war
- a bitter campaign/battle/struggle/drive/war/fight
- to launch/embark on a campaign/battle/drive
- to lead/continue the campaign/battle/struggle/drive/fight
- to win/lose a battle/struggle/war/fight
Extra Examples- This will be a straight fight between Labour and the Conservatives: the other parties are nowhere.
- No doubt Ferguson wants his team to make a fight of it.
- By 1807 politics had become a fight to the death between the two factions.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- brave
- good
- great
- …
- put up
- be on
- fight between
- fight for
- a fight to the death
- a fight to the finish
- have a fight on your hands
- …
- [countable] fight (for something) a battle, especially for a particular place or position
- In the fight for Lemburg, the Austrians were defeated.
- [uncountable] the desire or ability to keep fighting for something
- In spite of many defeats, they still had plenty of fight left in them.
- Losing their leader took all the fight out of them.
struggle
sport
argument
trying to get/do something
competition
battle/war
desire to fight
Word OriginOld English feohtan (verb), feoht(e), gefeoht (noun), of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch vechten, gevecht and German fechten, Gefecht.
Idioms
See fight in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee fight in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe spoiling for a fight
- to want to fight with somebody very much
a fight to the finish
- a sports competition, election, etc. between sides that are so equal in ability that they continue fighting very hard until the end
- Six teams are bitter rivals in what will be a fight to the finish.
- If the polls are wrong and it's a fight to the finish, the result may not be known until all the votes have been counted.
have a dog in the fight
(North American English also have a dog in the race/hunt)
- (informal) to be involved in a situation so that you will gain or lose according to the result
- I really don't have a dog in this fight, so I can just enjoy the game.
- The employees have a dog in the hunt, so their views should be listened to.
pick a fight/quarrel (with somebody)
- to deliberately start a fight or an argument with somebody
- He had drunk too much and was ready to pick a fight with anyone who crossed his path.
- She tried to pick a quarrel with me.
Check pronunciation:
fight